tag:blog.hasmanythrough.com,2006-02-27:/tag/jobshas_many :through - jobs2007-02-09T20:08:00-08:00tag:blog.hasmanythrough.com,2006-02-27:Article/762007-02-09T20:08:00-08:002008-01-24T00:19:34-08:00Powerset de-cloaking (and hiring too)Josh Susser<p>Today is a <a href="http://www.powerset.com/press/07/02/09/parc.html">big news day</a> for my company, <a href="http://www.powerset.com/">Powerset</a>. We have started to disclose information about our formerly super-sekrit technology, and today there are articles about us in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/technology/09license.html?_r=2&ref=technology">New York Times</a> and <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2007/02/08/powersets-search-technology-scoop-may-scare-google/">VentureBeat</a>. There's also a bit on <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/02/09/powerset-hype-to-boiling-point/">TechCrunch</a>, a bunch of Diggs, and <a href="http://technorati.com/search/powerset">Technorati</a> shows another minor blogstorm brewing.</p>
<p>So what's the big deal? The executive summary is that we obtained an exclusive license to best-of-breed NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology that has been developed at Xerox PARC over the last 30 years, and many of the creators of that technology have either come to work at Powerset or will be working with us while at PARC. I know that people are right to be skeptical about the kinds of claims we have been making, but perhaps this will go a ways toward showing that we aren't all hype. We're not just based on a good idea that only takes a couple years to bring to market - we've got some serious technology that can't be duplicated in less than a decade of effort, and we know what we're doing with it.</p>
<p>Our founders have a few good posts today. Our COO Steve Newcomb (not to be confused with the other Newcomb writing about us today) has a nice piece on <a href="http://www.blognewcomb.com/blog/2007/02/be_david_when_facing_goliath.html">Be David when facing Goliath</a>, our Product Architect Lorenzo Thione discusses <a href="http://blog.lorenzothione.com/2007/02/powerset_and_parc_join_forces.html">Powerset and PARC join forces to revolutionize search</a>. I'm sure our CEO Barney Pell will have a post at some point, but it will probably require surgical removal of the phone that has been grafted to his ear before he has a few minutes to write one.</p>
<p>The other cool thing is that today we finally have our <a href="http://www.powerset.com/careers.html">job openings online</a>, and they include several positions for Rails and Ruby developers. Check these out:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=18">RubyOnRails Developer, Natural Language Tools & Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=15">Junior Software Engineer, Natural Language Tools & Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=14">Front End Web Software Developer</a></li>
</ul>
<p>So far Powerset has four Ruby/Rails developers. There's me, of course, and also <a href="http://glu.ttono.us/">Kevin Clark</a> of <a href="http://thar.be/svn/projects/plugins/arts">ARTS</a> and <a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/seattlerb/">Heckle</a> fame. Next week we will be joined by Tom Werner, creator of <a href="http://gravatar.com">Gravatar</a>, and <a href="http://vandev.com/">Chris Van Pelt</a>. I can't say enough good things about working at Powerset, and we're in love with Rails for building our internal tools. And there are some other things brewing I'll be talking about as soon as I can. If you are a Rails wizard or master of Ruby and want to be part of an amazing team, this is the place to be.</p><p>Today is a <a href="http://www.powerset.com/press/07/02/09/parc.html">big news day</a> for my company, <a href="http://www.powerset.com/">Powerset</a>. We have started to disclose information about our formerly super-sekrit technology, and today there are articles about us in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/technology/09license.html?_r=2&ref=technology">New York Times</a> and <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2007/02/08/powersets-search-technology-scoop-may-scare-google/">VentureBeat</a>. There's also a bit on <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/02/09/powerset-hype-to-boiling-point/">TechCrunch</a>, a bunch of Diggs, and <a href="http://technorati.com/search/powerset">Technorati</a> shows another minor blogstorm brewing.</p>
<p>So what's the big deal? The executive summary is that we obtained an exclusive license to best-of-breed NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology that has been developed at Xerox PARC over the last 30 years, and many of the creators of that technology have either come to work at Powerset or will be working with us while at PARC. I know that people are right to be skeptical about the kinds of claims we have been making, but perhaps this will go a ways toward showing that we aren't all hype. We're not just based on a good idea that only takes a couple years to bring to market - we've got some serious technology that can't be duplicated in less than a decade of effort, and we know what we're doing with it.</p>
<p>Our founders have a few good posts today. Our COO Steve Newcomb (not to be confused with the other Newcomb writing about us today) has a nice piece on <a href="http://www.blognewcomb.com/blog/2007/02/be_david_when_facing_goliath.html">Be David when facing Goliath</a>, our Product Architect Lorenzo Thione discusses <a href="http://blog.lorenzothione.com/2007/02/powerset_and_parc_join_forces.html">Powerset and PARC join forces to revolutionize search</a>. I'm sure our CEO Barney Pell will have a post at some point, but it will probably require surgical removal of the phone that has been grafted to his ear before he has a few minutes to write one.</p>
<p>The other cool thing is that today we finally have our <a href="http://www.powerset.com/careers.html">job openings online</a>, and they include several positions for Rails and Ruby developers. Check these out:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=18">RubyOnRails Developer, Natural Language Tools & Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=15">Junior Software Engineer, Natural Language Tools & Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=POWERSET&cws=1&rid=14">Front End Web Software Developer</a></li>
</ul>
<p>So far Powerset has four Ruby/Rails developers. There's me, of course, and also <a href="http://glu.ttono.us/">Kevin Clark</a> of <a href="http://thar.be/svn/projects/plugins/arts">ARTS</a> and <a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/seattlerb/">Heckle</a> fame. Next week we will be joined by Tom Werner, creator of <a href="http://gravatar.com">Gravatar</a>, and <a href="http://vandev.com/">Chris Van Pelt</a>. I can't say enough good things about working at Powerset, and we're in love with Rails for building our internal tools. And there are some other things brewing I'll be talking about as soon as I can. If you are a Rails wizard or master of Ruby and want to be part of an amazing team, this is the place to be.</p>